What are you up to this weekend? A system of storms rolled across the eastern seaboard earlier this week, bestowing upon us unseasonably early autumnal feels — highs in the upper 70s, overnights in the lower 60s, humidity cut nearly in half to around 50%!

As I stand here in the early hours, before the sky fully wakes, there is a profound stillness. The dim headlamp on a skiff returning from a morning of fishing in Spicer Bay, barely discernible through the tall marsh grasses, and the rhythmic wing flaps of a lone Canada goose flying low overhead, are the only interruptions.

It’s my favorite time of day. The air is cool(er). The constant winds have yet to kick up. And the clouds. The clouds. If you follow my IG feed you know that our morning skies are rarely dull.

Pâte à choux (pronounced “pah-ta-zhoo”) is what one might call the universal French dough. From only four main ingredients — butter + liquid (water or milk) + flour + eggs — comes the basis for many types of pastries.

There are the famously French éclairs and profiteroles, and the more American cream puffs and crullers. Gougères take the dough in a savory direction, and the towering croquembouche in its spun sugar cage is an edible masterpiece. But it’s sweet little chouquettes that are my personal favorite.